Before the God in this Place for Good Remembrance: A Comparative Analysis of the Aramaic Votive Inscriptions from Mount Gerizim

195 Pages·2013·1.44 MB·English

by  Anne Katrine de Hemmer Gudme

Anne Katrine de Hemmer Gudme
BEFORE THE GOD
IN THIS PLACE FOR
GOOD REMEMBRANCE
A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE ARAMAIC
VOTIVE INSCRIPTIONS FROM MOUNT GERIZIM
Anne Katrine de Hemmer Gudme
Before the God in this Place for Good Remembrance
Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die
alttestamentliche Wissenschaft
Edited by
John Barton, F. W. Dopps-Allsopp, Reinhard G. Kratz
and Markus Witte
Volume 441
Anne Katrine de Hemmer Gudme
Before the God in
this Place for Good
Remembrance
A Comparative Analysis
of the Aramaic Votive Inscriptions
from Mount Gerizim
DE GRUYTER
ISBN978-3-11-030118-2
e-ISBN978-3-11-030187-8
ISSN0934-2575
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To Rasmus

Acknowledgements
Thismonographisarevisedversionofmydoctoralthesis,whichwassubmitted
totheFacultyofTheologyattheUniversityofCopenhageninMarch2011.During
theentireprocessofcompletingthisprojectIhavebeenmetwithkindness,gen-
erosity and helpfulness and I wish to thank everyone who have offered advice
andinvaluablefeedbackandhelpedmewithmynever-endingliteraturesearch-
es. A special thankyou goes to my supervisor, Niels Peter Lemche, for his wise
andgentle guidance and for his knack of giving just the right advice at exactly
therighttime.AndtomysecondsupervisorJørgenPodemannSørensen,whose
enthusiasm and theoretical cogency are a great inspiration.
IalsowishtothanktheFacultyofTheologyforfundingmyresearchandmy
colleagues at the Department of Biblical Studies for creating a stimulating and
funworkenvironment.IamparticularlygratefultoIngridHjelm,whointroduced
me to the Gerizim material.
Thechaptersinthisbookhavebenefitedgreatlyfromdiscussionsatthean-
nualmeetingsoftheOTSEMnetworkandduringmytimeasavistingstudentat
the Religious Studies Department at Brown University. I am grateful to Saul
Olyan, Michael Satlow and Stanley K. Stowers,to my fellow students at Brown
and to all the members of OTSEM.
TheDepartmentofTheologyandReligionattheUniversityofExeterwasmy
‘home’ during the last frantic months of writingand Iwish tothank myformer
colleagues there for their encouraging support.
IammuchobligedtoFinnOveHvidberg-Hansen,whoansweredlonglistsof
questions regarding the vast corpus of Palmyrene inscriptions and generously
shared his time and expertise, and to Kevin Cathcart,who not only proof-read
thewholething,butwhohasbeenadearfriendandasourceofencouragement.
Finally,Iwishtothankthemembersofmyassessmentcommittee,Reinhard
Kratz, Hans Jørgen Lundager Jensen and Jesper Høgenhaven, for their valuable
criticism,which helped me correct several flaws and sins of omission. I am to
fault of course for any shortcomings that may remain.
I dedicate this book to my beloved husband, Rasmus Kjær,without whom
nothing – not evenvotive practice – really matters.
Prometheus:AndIinventedformenthecombiningoflettersasanaidtomemory.
Aeschylus,PrometheusBound
Aman’sgiftmakesroomforhim,
Andbringshimbeforethegreat
Proverbs18:16

Contents
Acknowledgements VII
List of Abbreviations XI
Introduction 1
 Votive Practice: A Methodological Framework 5
. Votive Practice 6
.. Votive Objects 12
.. Ritual Actions 18
. The Gift 21
. Gifts to the Gods 30
 Votive Practice in Biblical Literature 37
. Biblical Literature 37
. Non-durable Votive Objects: Sacrifices 39
. Vows 41
. Durable Votive Objects 43
.. The qodāšīm 44
.. Sacerdotal Giving 47
. Votive Practice in Biblical Literature: Ideology and Practice 50
 The Votive Inscriptions from Mount Gerizim 52
. Mount Gerizim – An Introduction to the Site 52
. The Yahwists on Mount Gerizim 56
. The Sanctuary on Mount Gerizim 64
. The Votive Inscriptions from Mount Gerizim 70
.. The Dedicatory Formula 71
.. The Location of the Aramaic Inscriptions 76
.. The Dating of the Aramaic inscriptions 78
.. The Object of Dedication 85
.. Before the God in this Place 89
 Votive Inscriptions with a Version of a Remembrance Formula 91
. Classifying Inscriptions 94
. Assur 101
. Hatra 106
. Jebel Ramm 112